Within the 5 Gates of this project, Group 25 will dissect and reassemble the Crafstman Eager-1 snow blower. This machine was built approximately in the mid to late 1970's and as such it is quite beat up and there is no product code to confirm its age. There are also a few minor pieces missing such as the air filter and the gas tank cap, which will not have an effect on the overall purpose of the assignment. The snow blower will be completely taken apart and analyzed on a piece by piece basis to obtain a better understanding of how the machine works over the following 5 gates:

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The Eager-1 Craftsmen is a private use dual-stage, snow blower designed and distributed in the mid to late 1970’s. It is powered by a 4-stroke, one cylinder, 150cc gas engine. When it was sold, the Eager-1 snow blower was a moderately priced piece of equipment. Many gas-powered engines of that time period were not engineered for efficiency because it was not economically practical, and the Eager-1 was no exception. When our group first obtained the product, it was not in working order so there was no way to critiquing the products actual functionality and performance. User feedback and performance results are not readily available due to the fact that the snow blowers product cycle (functional lifetime) was over 30 years ago. Any User feedback we did find had questionable reputability (i.e. a man in a youtube video expressing his displeasure in the performance of his 30 year old Eager-1 snow blower). Snow blower designs have not differed greatly over the past 30 years. However, the greatest noticeable change in design is the substitution of compatible plastic components for existing steel parts. This is most likely due to the advances of material sciences, especially in the field of synthetic polymers, since the production of the Eager-1 snow blower. Stronger plastics that can perform the same functions as steel components are cheaper to manufacture and lighter than their steel counterparts.

Executive Summary

The Eager-1 Craftsmen is a private use dual-stage, snow blower designed and distributed in the mid to late 1970’s. It is powered by a 4-stroke, one cylinder, 150cc gas engine. When it was sold, the Eager-1 snow blower was a moderately priced piece of equipment. Many gas-powered engines of that time period were not engineered for efficiency because it was not economically practical, and the Eager-1 was no exception. When our group first obtained the product, it was not in working order so there was no way to critiquing the products actual functionality and performance. User feedback and performance results are not readily available due to the fact that the snow blowers product cycle (functional lifetime) was over 30 years ago. Any User feedback we did find had questionable reputability (i.e. a man in a youtube video expressing his displeasure in the performance of his 30 year old Eager-1 snow blower). Snow blower designs have not differed greatly over the past 30 years. However, the greatest noticeable change in design is the substitution of compatible plastic components for existing steel parts. This is most likely due to the advances of material sciences, especially in the field of synthetic polymers, since the production of the Eager-1 snow blower. Stronger plastics that can perform the same functions as steel components are cheaper to manufacture and lighter than their steel counterparts.